La Constancia (our first estancia) Jan 5 to 8

We were picked up from the bus terminal at Villa Dolores (Cordoba) at 8:30 am on Sunday by the charming Agustin, who co-owns the estancia with his brother Luis.  He was somewhat amused by both the amount of baggage we have and by the way we were unceremoniously disgorged by the bus.  (We arrived at our destination unexpectedly and were carrying all the stuff we hadn't had time to pack away as we stumbled from the vehicle!)

Agustin and Luis

One hour later we were at the ranch.  If you are looking for a 5 star hotel experience with immaculate white table cloths, polished marble floors and flunkies at every turn, then here is not for you.  If however you want somewhere to relax, surrounded by delightful people and nature, where things can be a little shambolic and there is a strong culture of DIY (on their part)- then you will love it.  We love it!  The food is good and, unlike most places in Argentina, they serve vegetables!

The swimming pool is more like a natural pond, created by the grandparents by digging and lining a hole, then diverting a channel from the local river to fill and run through it.  As such, it is very refreshing (cold), but it tastes wonderful.  I question whether to swim in it or to drink it.  The pool has a lovely open view down the valley and is shrouded at its rear by tall Poplar trees, alive with the sound of green parrots which can be seen nesting in great numbers.

               Jemima with Augustin and his daughter 

                                                                                     The "pool"

                                  Green Parrots nesting

The gardens are filled with blue Agapanthus, Hydrangeas and the odd fig tree.  The buildings house the grandparent's original furniture and about 12 bird cages of varying size.

                                                                                             Dining area

Highlights so far:
Our first lunch was a huge BBQ serving lamb, sausage, goat and black pudding - James in his element.

We all went riding on the second day - just for 1.5 hours.  The scenery is majestic and although there is not much trotting and cantering, (the terrain will not allow for much more than walking) we loved the environment - even Jemima was happy!  The horses are small, but very well behaved and responsive.

                   Augustin, Philippa and Jemima

Then, yesterday we went for a 4 hour walk up the valley.  This proved more challenging than expected since it involved a certain amount of scrambling over boulders, crossing the river about 8 times

and pushing our way through high grasses, whose edges can be very sharp and give paper cuts - as Jemima found out to her detriment.

After 2.5 hours we arrived at our objective - a lovely waterfall -

had lunch and returned.

It is now 4:30PM on Wednesday, Philippa and Jemima are doing a maths lesson after which, guess what - we are going riding again.........Life sucks!